was also the reason the palace

It was seen by millions around the world and now the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress has made 10 million in ticket sales as the star attraction of a Buckingham Palace exhibition.

Kate's dress, by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton, was also the reason the palace attracted an "unprecedented" number of visitors to its annual summer opening.

A total of 626,678 people saw the dress, displayed alongside the diamond earrings given to her by her parents and the Cartier "Halo" tiara borrowed from the Queen, during the 73 day exhibition.

Today's figures show for the first time the "Kate effect" on the royal family's finances silver love bracelet. It dwarfs the estimated 35,000 cost of her wardrobe to her father in law so far this year. The exhibition was highly popular visitor numbers were 52 per cent higher than for the 2010 summer opening despite the Queen describing the display as "horrible" and "very creepy", apparently because Kate's dress and tiara were shown on a headless mannequin.

The summer opening also featured the royal family's collection of priceless Faberg eggs. Today's annual report from the Royal Collection shows that the royal wedding sparked a massive interest in official souvenirs. Items such as commemorative bone china plates and tea towels were so popular that the Royal Collection struggled to keep royal gift shops stocked and meet online orders cartier love bracelet fake. Overall, the Royal Collection's income soared almost 8.5 million to 50.2 million in 2011/12.

Jonathan Marsden, director of the Royal Collection, said last year's royal wedding had provided the "best possible start" to the year cartier love bracelet men. He said: "Unprecedented numbers came to see the duchess's wedding dress, as the centrepiece of a special display celebrating the role of British design."

Financial accounts published last month showed Prince Charles's spending had risen sharply over the past 12 months with the section of his budget from which the duchess's dresses are paid for increasing by 100,000. Royal aides refused to put a precise cost on how much her clothes cost, saying the Prince of Wales only pays for outfits Kate wears for official functions.

Prince Charles's overall outgoings rose 5.4 per cent to 12,025,000, paid from 2.1 million in government grants and 18,288,000 from the Duchy of Cornwall, his private estate, as he picked up the bill for Prince William and Kate, whose staff increased from seven to nine. The annual accounts, which cover the 12 months to April, have, hidden within them, the cost to Charles of his son's wedding. Aides said it would be "impolite" to reveal the cost as it was considered a private event.

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